


a queen and her subjects

by orphan_account



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, continuing the evie and audrey r bffs narrative, though it's just in the bg here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-17
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:46:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24767956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Mal had never wanted to be queen.At least, not the type of queen that Auradon would've wanted.
Relationships: Ben/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Audrey Rose (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 46





	a queen and her subjects

Mal had never wanted to be queen.

At least, not the type of queen that Auradon would've wanted. 

When she was a child she used to dream about becoming queen of the Isle, sitting on a throne as black as the night, leading with a cruel little smirk on her face, an expression she would mimic off her mother. At times she could still picture it, the long faded dream of towering over all of the criminals on the Isle by becoming the biggest and baddest of them all.

In her little fantasy, there had never been space for a boyfriend, for Ben. Evie, Jay, and Carlos, they were there with her of course, each with their own responsibilities in her dark, looming castle. But she had despised the idea of love, especially when she was younger. So there was only one throne, only one crown, and it was all for her.

Ruling Auradon, in comparison, seemed a lot less fun.

Ben was a good king, and Ben loved Mal, but that didn't necessarily translate into Mal being a good queen.

That much was clear to everybody.

Audrey had made a few snide comments here and there about how Mal was unfit to be beside Ben, but Mal had expected that, half looked forward to it even. Audrey cursing her out and insulting her when she was near had turned into almost a comfortable sort of familiarity, something Mal knew she could depend on even if everything else changed. She'd stopped getting angry at her comments long ago, especially when Evie had somehow managed to rope Audrey into being her friend, and effectively lessening Audrey's slightly harsh views on them as a whole. Audrey still didn't like Mal herself very much, but seemed to tone her spiteful comments down a notch for Evie's sake.

What Mal hadn't expected, however, was for most of the public to agree with Audrey. She'd had to face her fair share of slanderous headlines from the newspaper, and various malicious anonymous comments online. She hadn't expected to be welcomed with open arms, but she certainly hadn't expected the almost immediate hate either.

The newest article published on _auradonupdatesandnews.com_ was perhaps the worst of them all. Mal had spent most of the afternoon simply staring down at her phone, trying, and ultimately failing, to scroll down past the headline.

_'COUNCILLOR EVIE TO REPLACE THE PURPLE MENACE AS QUEEN OF AURADON?'_

Mal had to flinch a little at that, at the nickname that people had began dubbing her with, at the fact that Evie was shown a respect from reporters that she had never been shown in all her years in Auradon, at the fact that people wanted Evie to _replace_ her. Despite the general feeling of dread that had swirled in her stomach, she decided to press through anyway, and scrolled down to begin reading the article.

_'As you know, the Purple Menace (otherwise known as Mal) has been rather abysmal at playing the part of the queen. She's never bothered to show herself at one of King Ben's many charity events, and, if you've forgotten, had even yelled at one of the orphans when she and Ben had chosen to visit one of the newly opened orphanages last year. Clearly she does not care a single ounce for the Auradon people, even stooping as low as to abuse a child. We here at Auradon Updates and News sincerely wonder if the queen will ever own up to her mistakes and learn from them.'_

And there it was, the one thing that people wouldn't stop mentioning no matter how much time passed, the orphanage incident. In all honesty though, that had been her fault entirely. She usually opted out of social appearances, especially things that would appear on the news, as she feared she'd make a fool of herself in public. But her avoidance of any and all social events had only made people think she didn't care about them at all, which wasn't what she had wanted, so when she had heard that Ben was going to visit a newly opened orphanage, she had jumped at the chance to go with him.

Admittedly, she hadn't really been thinking about the children when she insisted she go with him, but as soon as she saw them, saw some of them with the same haunted look in their eyes that she'd had not so long ago, her heart had went out to them.

But Mal was never very good with children, and had a shorter patience than most people, so when she had been faced with a five year old who was far too vocal and inquisitive for her liking, she had ended up snapping at him after one question too many. The child had been stunned into silence, and then upon seeing her glowing green eyes, had burst into tears. Unfortunately for Mal, the journalists and reporters had caught the entire thing on camera, and the incident was uploaded onto many different websites before the day was even over.

Mal had felt horrible about it all, returning the next day to apologise to the child, but he had outright refused to listen to or even see her, which she couldn't exactly blame him for.

The orphanage incident hadn't made it any easier on Mal's already bad reputation, so she had simply continued to remain in the shadows, refusing to attend social functions once again. Ben didn't try to argue with her on it anymore.

_'Councillor Evie on the other hand, has shown that despite having an utterly incompetent queen, there is still good work being done in Auradon. After the king had hired Evie as a Councillor, there have been many changes made to Auradon and the Isle. It was known that Evie was the one who personally asked for other Isle kids to be brought from the Isle to Auradon, to be given a second chance like she was. That's not all, either! She's also known for Evie's 4 Hearts, the clothing line with designs that she personally hand crafts. Truly a woman of many talents._

_We've also been privy to some information that tells us she had even gotten the highest grades in a few of her classes during the time she was attending Auradon prep. Clearly she is not just a woman of beauty and fashion, but also a woman of intelligence. But beyond that, Councillor Evie has shown time and time again her passion and kindness. She has been spotted and photographed many times visiting several different orphanages to check on the children and has even attended every charity even that the king has hosted. She herself was singlehandedly in charge of all the welfare of the Isle children that were staying at Auradon prep, making sure their transitions to Auradon life were as seamless as possible, becoming a mother figure to many of the younger students. In fact, all_ _of the children that we've spoken to (Auradonians and Isle kids alike) have all had nothing but praises to sing for Councillor Evie._

_It's made all of us here at Auradon Updates and News ponder if maybe she would be more fit to hold the title than the Purple Menace.'_

Before Mal had even thought to be upset, she thought to herself that it would make sense, if Evie was to be queen. Her mother had trained her to be royalty after all, Mal knew that Evie would know exactly what to do and what to say. More than anything though, she would know how to act. Evie would show up to every dance and bake sale and fundraiser with a pretty smile on her face and be able to speak to everyone in the room without feeling tired. Mal knew that, Mal knew it well.

But the fact was, Mal was queen. Whether she wanted to be or not, she was. Because she was in love with Ben, and because she wanted to stay by Ben's side. She had to be queen.

Being queen was miserable work, exhausting work. It was never as bad as the Isle- no, _nothing_ could ever be as bad as the Isle- but it made Mal think. It made her wonder why she still had to go through her days half depressed, half asleep, half herself. Auradon was supposed to be _good_ , it was supposed to be _different_. It was not supposed to make her want to prick her finger on a spinning wheel and fall into an eternal slumber. She felt very much as if she had been robbed of what she was promised. She kissed Ben and was promised true love. She got engaged to Ben and was promised a happily ever after.

So why didn't it seem possible? Why did it seem to be getting further and further away?

_'We are happy to inform you all that it seems like that might be more possible than you would believe! Despite the king's claims that he truly loves his queen, we implore you to take a look at this picture below before you go on believing that.'_

Below that line of text was a photo of Ben and Evie at one of the many balls that were being hosted in the castle. Ben was dressed in a blue suit (as he usually was), velvet, navy, a perfect picture of a perfect young prince.

("I don't really know how to dress like a king, if I'm honest. My mother tells me I should wear more mature things, like my father, but I kind of prefer the way I dress right now. You think I look good, don't you?" Ben had said once.

Mal had only snorted, and nodded her head, never really quite understanding the difference between what Ben wore and what his father wore to begin with.)

Evie was in a gorgeous prussian blue gown, something that sparkled and glittered and framed her with an air of grace and elegance. Stood next to Ben like that it had almost looked like they'd worn matching outfits. Blue for the king, blue for Evie, blue for them _both_.

That wasn't rare, however, them almost constantly looking like a matching pair. Both their affinities for the colour blue had made for a lot of coincidences in their time. That wasn't what had Mal's jaw tensed, her free hand curled into a fist at her side.

No, Mal could hardly find herself focusing on what they were wearing at all. Not when all she saw were their eyes.

_'The king and his councillor are a breathtaking pair in their formal wear, King Ben donning a regal velvet suit and Councillor Evie wearing a stunning blue gown as they speak to each other. But perhaps the most telling thing in this photograph, is the warmth they have for each other. If the way they are looking at each other is no indicator, just take a glance at the smiles they're sharing with each other. This certainly seems to us like it could be the start of something. We certainly wouldn't mind if that were true!'_

Mal knew them. 

She _knew_ them. She knew they would never do this to her, never go behind her back like that.

But some part of her couldn't fully deny it, deny that they looked good together, deny that they _fit_ together, deny that she saw that little spark of _something_ in the depths of Ben's eyes.

She knew too, that she'd been a terrible queen, probably even a terrible girlfriend for a time, but she still loved Ben. She did. _She did._

She knew she did, because it _hurt._ The longer she looked at the picture of them, smiling at each other, looking like an ethereal couple from a fantasy, the more it pained her. It was unbearable, the way she almost physically felt her heart wincing. Her eyes burned, the tears she cried had fell fast and hard, had dripped onto her phone screen and blurred everything.

Despite her resistance, despite her will to hold on just a little longer, hang on just a bit tighter, her heart went and broke anyway.

*

Ben was born to be king.

Ever since the moment he had spoke his first words, he had known what he would need to become.

When he was young it was easy to romanticise, to build up daydreams about what it meant to be king, to rule, to have an entire kingdom in the palm of his hand. His mother would whisper him stories, fanciful ones, _fake_ ones, ones where a king is only a good boy, a just boy, a boy capable of making his own rules.

It didn't take long for him to figure out that wasn't all there was to being a king.

But even if being king wasn't as fun as he had once thought, he had still tried, still worked hard, because despite the work, despite the exhaustion, he still loved it. He loved it all. He loved the strength he had, he loved the thought of looking after his people, he loved being a leader.

His father had looked at him once, straight in the eyes, and said, "You're good at this, son, maybe even better than I was. You might've been made for it."

He didn't quite believe those words, but hoped so desperately for them to be true. He wanted nothing more than to be _good,_ to be a _good_ king, a king that the people wanted, that the people respected, that the people loved.

Still, even though he was smart, and good, and capable, he couldn't predict just how wrong things would go for Mal.

_'7 REASONS WHY KING BEN AND COUNCILLOR EVIE ARE MEANT FOR EACH OTHER.'_

He stared at the headline in front of him with some distaste, a frown etched onto his face. He had no bigger wish than for these articles to stop coming out, but no matter what he said about them, they would not retract their statements.

Mal had just seen one of them the other day, and had taken to avoiding him for the rest of the week. The one time he had managed to catch her, she seemed too upset to even say anything, so he had just let her be.

He had understood why she was upset, with the accusations of her being an awful queen on top of the speculation that Ben might actually go and replace her with Evie. But he'd been upset too, had been angry too. The moment he had seen that article he had wanted to tell all those reports hanging about outside the castle to just fuck off somewhere and report on something that was _truthful,_ but knew that as king, he could never act that way.

It was frustrating too, that she had doubted his love of her enough to get so upset. He understood. He did. _He did._ But he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she didn't trust him. He couldn't help but wonder if she actually believed he would replace her, with her best friend of all people.

_'1. They match, literally!_

_I'm sure you all know by now, but Ben and Evie both have literal matching colour schemes. It doesn't seem to be on purpose, but that's what makes this all even more incredible! An unintentional match. Fate. Destiny, even. With their natural way of matching each other all the time, you have to assume that they match on other things too *wink wink*.'_

Ben's frown had only deepened at that. The idea that they were made for each other, bound together by fate simply because they both liked the colour blue was one thing. But the _*wink wink*_ was another thing entirely. He didn't know which part to be the most upset about.

His mother had regaled him with tales of fate and soulmates once, and he had believed them back then, but all that had soon went out the window when his mother had claimed Audrey could very well be his soulmate. His relationship with Audrey had been rather brief, and slightly explosive. After the love spell Mal had put him under when they were sixteen, he had went to apologise to Audrey personally, having not been able to give her a second thought while his senses were completely clouded by everything Mal.

("So, I wasn't good enough to be your fairytale soulmate, but _she_ was?" Audrey had asked, lips twisted like she was disgusted by what she was saying, like she was disgusted by _him._

She'd always had the incredible ability of making a person feel so small.

"I'm sorry. I really am. And besides, I don't believe in soulmates anymore." He'd replied, feeling worse by the minute.

Audrey had scoffed, and then rolled her eyes. " _Yes you do_. You've always believed in that soulmate gunk. I don't think you'll ever stop, either. And I knew it was never going to be me, but just for the record, _I don't think it's Mal either."_ )

Sometimes he wanted to believe in soulmates again, wanted to believe that Mal was his, but had been afraid to. 

In hindsight, maybe he had been afraid because he might end up finding out she _wasn't._

But that didn't matter much anymore. He might not believe in soulmates, but he believed in love, he believed in work, he believed in _them._ It would be fine. He didn't have anything to be scared about.

_'2. Imagine the babies!_

_It's no secret that Evie is one of the most sought after single girls in Auradon. Not only is she drop dead gorgeous, but she has a booming business that's making her thousands, and a kind, caring heart to boot! Ben has also accomplished so much after he became king, bringing over the first four kids from the Isle over (including the current queen and possible future queen *wink*) and eventually bringing all the kids from the Isle over to complete the big merge! It's very easy to tell that Ben cares a lot for his people, but not only that, he's pretty much the only boy out there who matches Evie in terms of looks. You can bet those genes mixed together would create very beautiful and very bright babies!'_

Ben balked, and wondered when his people had become so forward.

He hadn't exactly learned anything new, he had always known that Evie was quite popular. For good reason too. He remembered being quite taken by her looks himself when they had first met. He had however, judged her quite quickly on that first meeting, and had almost immediately dismissed her as a pretty girl that didn't have much in her head. He'd regretted ever thinking that in the years that followed, especially when he had made the decision to make her councillor. But she had proved that she was incredibly clever, and useful, and more importantly, she genuinely cared for everybody she was trying to help, and as soon as Ben had seen her at work he had been extremely thankful that he had gotten over his first impressions of her when he did.

The idea of family however, had never fully crossed his mind. Of course he had given it some thought, especially the days leading up to him proposing to Mal. He had always stopped short of children, though. It wasn't that he never wanted any, but more that he was afraid that he'd learn Mal didn't want any, and that after hearing she didn't, it would crush him. 

He wouldn't force Mal to have children if she didn't want any, but he couldn't quite imagine a family without children either, and if he'd let himself think about it, he would've figured out he _wanted_ kids. He wanted to teach his children how to walk, he wanted to love them, he wanted to watch them grow, he wanted to spoil them and be there for them when they cried. He wanted the full package. He just wasn't sure he wanted it more than he wanted Mal.

_'3. They look AMAZING together!_

_If they did get together, they would definitely be Auradon's hottest couple! Though when Audrey and Jay dated for those two weeks, they were definitely a lovely sight, Ben and Evie would look even more perfect together! With Ben's charming smile and Evie's sparkling brown eyes, they'd be so dazzling I could probably cry at the sight. Now, we're not necessarily saying Ben and Mal don't look good together, because of course they do look quite cute next to each other, but nothing could quite compare to the majesty of Ben and Evie._

Mal had always been the most beautiful girl in the room to Ben.

Even when she was angry.

Even when she had been a dragon.

He didn't think that would ever change. He didn't think he could ever look at Mal and not have his breath catch in his throat, stunned so much he forgot to breathe.

If he had to be certain of one thing, he thought, it would be this. Maybe things could change, maybe Mal could not want him anymore, but _this,_ this he is sure will never go away. He could envision it fifty years later, even though Mal would be grey haired and wrinkly by then, that he would still gasp at the mere sight of her, that she would still remain the most beautiful girl in the world for him.

Something about the rush of assurance in that, in knowing that rather than having wished it, made him wonder if he should be this confident about everything else, too. And made him wonder even more, what it meant that he wasn't that confident about anything _but_ this.

_'4. They're soulmates!!_

_Yep, you read it right, they're soulmates! We recently did a compatibility test on behalf of the both of them, and the results came out that they were 100% compatible!!!! That's a result that nearly no couple has ever gotten before. We even went around to ask different people on what they thought of Ben and Evie as a couple, and a whopping 80% of the responses we got were positive!! Audrey in particular, had this to say about them: "It's probably no surprise to anyone by now, but Evie really has become one of my closest friends over the years, and I'm thankful that despite everyone already having written me off as a nasty jealous brat, she chose to give me a second chance. The only other person who also still willingly talks to me for more than a couple minutes is Ben. They're two of the kindest people I know, and if that doesn't mean they should go ahead and start making out already, then I don't know what does."_

_You heard it folks!'_

The numbers scared him more than he'd like to admit.

Audrey's statement sounded pretty much exactly like something he thought she'd say, though he was pretty sure she'd be joking, even if whoever had spoken to her clearly hadn't taken it as such. But Audrey had also been one of the only people in his whole life that's ever been fully honest with him. People had always been too scared to share their true opinions with him ever since he was young, always scared because of his royal status, worried that he'd judge them, that they'd get punished for disagreeing with him. 

Audrey had never been worried about that. She had never been worried about much, in truth, always seeming as if she knew exactly what she was doing. Ben had admired her for a long time because of it, and in his younger years, had misinterpreted that admiration for a crush.

("Evie? I didn't know you two were friends."

When Ben had discovered that Audrey and Evie were now attached at the hip, he had been more than a little surprised.

Audrey shrugs. "It's a new development. I've found that though I can hate almost everybody on this entire planet, it is entirely impossible to hate her. Just like I could never really find it in myself to hate _you,_ even after that disastrous break up we had. You two are a force to be reckoned with."

Ben had laughed at that, and didn't think much of it after.)

A small, tiny, minuscule part of him wondered if he should've just listened to her from the start.

_'5. The history!_

_We've had two different sources confirm that Ben and Evie actually used to have a crush on each other!!!! Source A told me that when Evie had first arrived with the rest of the core four on Auradon and she had met Ben, she'd had a crush on him for a few days. Source B told me that even though Ben was dating Audrey at the time, when he first greeted Evie after she arrived with everyone on the limo, he had thought she was very pretty and had a mini crush on her for the rest of that day. You know what that sounds like? That sounds to me like love at first sight!!! Or crush at first sight, to be more accurate. But either way, these two have definitely had some romantic feelings for the other. Doesn't it sound like a perfect first meeting? Like the beginning of a fairytale love story!'_

Something like dread settled at the pit of his stomach. Something like lead.

It weighed him down, pushed on his shoulders. It was heavy. It was strong. It was suffocating.

And yet, at the same time, something light started to tingle at the base of his spine, something like warmth, something like anticipation, something like ~~_desire_~~.

He stopped reading after that.

*

Evie had always thought she would amount to nothing.

Her mother had fed her tales of princesses and castles and princes and royalty since she could walk and talk and listen. But even then she had known it was a lost cause. She looked around her and saw the mouldy wallpaper and the scuffed up marble tiles and _knew._

That hadn't stopped her mother though. It hadn't stopped her mother from feeding her those stories, those neat, pretty little lies. It hadn't stopped her mother from forcing her to stay locked in her room for days on end so that she could practise perfectly just how to apply the right amount of lipstick without smudging or overdrawing her lines.

While she had learnt to sew and curtsy and cook, when her mother wasn't looking she would learn how to run, how to take pretty things she thought might make her look more like a princess, how to avoid unfriendly gazes from unfriendly men. Her mother had taught her _some_ things, but none of those things useful. Evie had to learn the rest by herself.

When Evie had first gotten to Auradon, she'd learnt to name the one flaw she'd always seen in herself but not in anybody else on the Isle, _compassion._

_'SIGN THIS PETITION TO MAKE COUNCILLOR EVIE THE NEXT QUEEN.'_

She stared down at the booklet for most of the morning, hoped that if she somehow glared long enough at the words it would just disappear and she wouldn't have to think about it anymore.

Sadly, no matter how long she looked, it was still there, sitting on her desk, waiting to be read.

Someone had placed it there before she had stepped in, and Evie had procrastinated actually looking through it for a good thirty minutes before she felt she could ignore it no longer.

With a sigh, she flipped the first page.

_'As you all know, Mal just isn't cutting it as the current queen. She doesn't have much work as Ben is doing everything he can as king, but still, we would like to see some action from the queen. And no, her yelling at poor defenceless little children does not count as action. We need a queen who will dedicate herself to Auradon and will actually care about her people, or at least is willing to show that she does. Don't we deserve a queen like that? Doesn't Ben?'_

Evie couldn't help the very audible gasp that fell from her lips just from the first introductory paragraph on its own.

She'd seen the articles, the headlines, the gossip, the rumours.

It had upset her a great deal, and she knew they got to Mal too, but whenever she tried to talk to her about it, she'd close up and run. Evie had remembered a time when she was on the Isle, and Maleficent had threatened to punish Evie when her mother had displeased her, and Mal had fought to try and convince Maleficent not to do anything. As a consequence, Mal was punished severely in her stead, and she hadn't talked to Evie for two weeks because of it. Not because she was angry at her, but because she was worried for her, worried that the longer they stayed friends, the more likely eventually her mother would do something to hurt Evie.

Evie had cried then, for two weeks waiting for Mal to finally respond.

Evie doesn't cry now, she doesn't think she should be allowed.

She was coated with this guilt, blanketed by this awful feeling. She wakes up and sees multiple notifications on her phone, none of them Mal, and winces.

Evie had always wanted praise, always wanted to be recognised for _something,_ even if she thought that was a far away dream. She wanted to be known, she wanted to be admired, she wanted to be worshipped.

But not like this. Never like this.

Not at Mal's expense.

_'Good news is, we have Evie. She is everything a queen needs to be. She's kind, she's caring, she's compassionate, she's smart. And she's beautiful as well! Queen's don't really need to be beautiful, but I'm sure glad she is, and I'd bet you all would agree with me. She's the perfect example for a queen. It was like she was made to be royalty! I know that we're practically powerless, it's not as if we can just vote for another queen, but I'm hoping that by you all signing this petition with me, that maybe when Ben realises just how much of us want the change, he'll do something about it.'_

Mal has had fifty percent of Evie's heart practically her whole life. Jay and Carlos had twenty five percent each. But Mal? Oh, Mal took so much more space than Evie had ever thought she was capable of giving.

She'd thought too, that even though their lives would be drastically different after they left the Isle, that that wouldn't change.

But she listened to her own heart beating, and thought she could hear that something really _had_ changed after all.

Audrey had thirty percent. Ben had ten.

She doesn't recalculate. She _couldn't._ She wouldn't do it. She refused to figure out just how much it went down for everyone else, she didn't want to know that Mal wasn't fifty percent anymore, that she didn't have half. Mal had always had half.

The fact of the matter though, was that Ben had ten. No matter how she looked at it. He had ten. And Evie wondered when exactly that had happened.

("I used to do the same thing, you know, work myself to the bone. I can't tell you how many nights I spent passed out on top of my desk." Ben had said suddenly, watching Evie carefully as if worried she would fall asleep at any moment.

Evie's eyelids _had_ been drooping, but she shook her head anyway. "So you know that I can't just _stop_ working now, right?"

Ben sighs, but smiles nonetheless, and gently places a hand on Evie's shoulder. "Doesn't mean I'm not still worried about you."

Evie's shoulder is uncharacteristically warm.

She might listen to him, this time.)

_'A lot of the younger kids see Ben as a father figure, and Evie as a mother figure. It's only nature that she would make the best queen, right? I've even talked to Mal once and she had said she doesn't particularly enjoy children, and doesn't really see herself having any in the future. Judging by the way she handled that orphan, I think it would probably be best that Mal stay far away from children, even if it's one of her own. Evie however, has always been really good with children, and has said before that she'd love to have kids of her own one day. Another thing a queen needs to do is provide heirs, or else who will inherit the throne after Ben? Since Mal doesn't want any kids, the obvious option here is clearly Evie.'_

The way the person who'd put together this petition had spoken about this bothered Evie a great deal. She had no idea whether to be flattered that they thought such highly of her, or offended that they would make this in the first place when they already had a queen.

She didn't think it was entirely a bad thing that Mal wasn't _good_ at any of the things she needed to be good at to be queen. So she wasn't good at handling children, or social events. So she didn't want to have her own children. Evie didn't need Mal to be good at those things, she didn't need Mal to want things she didn't want. Just because Evie could do the things she could, could want the things she was afraid to want, that didn't mean she was better. She knew that. She knew that Ben knew that.

Why didn't anybody else?

_'If you agree with me, please sign below the dotted line. If we get a good amount of signatures, I'm sure someone will listen to us!'_

Evie flipped through page after page after page of signatures. She recognised a few. Frowned. And then pushed the entire thing to the side.

There was too many. Too many signatures. Too much agreeing.

Her mind whirled. Her world spun.

She tried to think.

_Ten percent._

Ten percent. And growing.

*

Auradon had accepted one queen, decided they didn't like her, and then spat her right back out.

The people rally, and beg, and plead for a new one, for the girl that seemed exactly what they needed, for a girl that seemed too good to be true.

The king had opposed, told them that he loved his queen, that she loved him too.

"We don't need love!" Auradon had yelled, their anger flaring. "We need a good queen! We need a smart queen! We need a kind queen! We need a _new_ queen!"

The queen had heard their demands, and cried secretly in her bedroom. She cried for her broken heart, for her king, for the people who she knew were right.

They needed a good queen, and she could never be that.

So she left in the dark of night, covered by the shadows, and left a king alone in his empty chambers, to pick up his heart that she had split in two.

And the girl that the people had rallied for, that the people had supported, she came and filled the queen's empty space, taped the king's heart back together, and became the queen Auradon had asked for.

(Ben felt, for the first time in a long time, that things had settled.

The wedding had been chaotic, and there had been reporters everywhere that had been trying to get in, trying to get a shot of the king and his new queen.

"You should be sleeping." Evie whispered, shifting in Ben's arms so that she faced him.

Ben leaned down to place a quick kiss against her forehead, smiling a little. "I was just thinking about the wedding."

"Me too, actually." She admitted, voice still quiet even though no one would be around to overhear them. "Everybody looked happy. It was so strange."

Ben laughed. "That's your fault, I'm pretty sure. All that time asking and now they've finally been granted the queen they've always wanted. Of course they would be happy."

Evie hummed, and thought to herself that this was all really only possible because of Mal, but chose not to say anything.

"Good night." She said instead, and smiled in contentment as Ben pressed himself closer and whispered an _I love you_ into her shoulder.

Fifty percent. She had decided.

In the end, even as she drifted off to sleep in her husband's arms, Mal still had fifty percent after all. She always would.)

**Author's Note:**

> basic summary, incase things were confusing??: at the end basically mal decides to leave so that ben and evie can get together in peace without her there to interfere/cause too much guilt because she knows that evie would be a much better queen than she could ever be and she knows that ben and evie were starting to develop feelings for each other. since she figured they would end up falling in love anyway, she left to make it easier on them to get together faster and for evie to b the queen that auradon has literally been begging for. it's not mentioned but in my head she runs and lives a pretty happy life travelling and seeing different places, not really wanting to settle down on one place and meeting lots of different/interesting people on her journeys. she's v sad at first but over time does eventually get over it all/gets over ben and she actually ends up seeing pictures of ben and evie's wedding (surprisingly she had bumped into audrey during one of her trips and audrey had ended up showing her some pictures of the wedding from her phone. audrey still doesn't like mal too much, but actually managed not to say anything scathing or insulting that whole time they bumped into each other, which is a big improvement. now mal and audrey are weird pen pals, and mal will send audrey a postcard from somewhere new she visits because she knows audrey gets annoyed by them and mal enjoys bothering her) and realises she's actually v happy for them and doesn't like regret anything at all. in the end everyone rlly is happy : ))) bc they deserve it i think skldjg


End file.
